Steering-gear attachment.



A. C. SAVIDGE.

STEERING GEAR ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION rILnD 11011.19, 1914.

I one side or the other,

y PATENT OFFICE.

.ALBERT c. sAvIDGiajoF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, .AssIGNoR To sAVIDGE sTEnItIsisef1 DEvIcE coMEANiLoE INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A coRPoRATIoN or INDIANA. f

STEERING- GEAR ATTAcIIMENT-` ,Married Specication of Letters Patent. i

Application -led November 19, 1914. Serial No. 872,883.

ZoqZZL-@blcom 'it may concern it known that I, ALBERT' C. SAVIDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at v'iiiithecounty of Marion, and d ana'have invented anew and i *A ttachinent, of which ip'g .spe fication.

.',the'ipe' trennt automobiles of that ic th and wheel is connected wheelsiwlithout the intcrposi has heretofore been eiator to at all times upon the hand wheel tore, subjected to conch are very fatiguing. yn tion is to produce a-dew-icelwhi iii-g gear muy, ihon'giif ch may chicles and serve to nordingly, maintain the steer- 20 ing wheels" in .their straight-forward position vin such manner as to OppoSethe lateral deilections' due to normal runnin'gi`f'of the vehicle, the construction being such that any desired relation may be obtained between 25 the amounts otl opposition offered at different angles ofthe steering wheels from such straight forward position, as'the needs of the operator may' require; and that when the operator swings the steering wheels to comparatively small deflections' may be immediately automatr.

cally corrected as soonfas the handwheel. is released, while largerfdefiections need not tbe so aiected.

The. apparatus may be incorporated in a carattlie time of its production, but I have ShownI they same in the form of an attachmerit or separate article ,of manufacture, 'vhich may be readily `applied to existing 4d? such, for instance, jas the well known Ford cars.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my fyin'ventioni l """Fi'gurcl is a plan in partial horizontal 451 'section of a-steering gear equipped with my device; Fig. 2 a section on line 2-2 oii Fig. '3 a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; a section on line4-4 of Fig. 3. drawings, 10 indicates the vfront axle, 11, 11 the steering knuckles, 12 the tie rod connecting the two knuckles, 13 the connecting link, and 14 the handwheelfshaft, all of these parts being of any lwell known form. l

In 'chenter eyes 29, -29 in the outer endsof My attachment is constructed as follows: 20 indicates a yoke formed to receive the front axle 10 being held upon said front axle by means of the clamping plate 21 and bolts Upon its upper and lower arms, the yoke '20 is provided with short trunnions 523, 23 formed to receive eyes '2l formed at one end of a pail.,` of side plates 25, 25 held Patented Mar. 16, 1915. f*

together by a pair of clamping bolts 26, 26

and spacedat their free ends by a yoke provided with short trunnions 28, 28 whigi e The side plates 25 are weer),

side plates 25, Q5. provided with side channels '25 and b these channels is slidably mounted 31 provided in its end with a. rope sad'd'if", 1 realistiy 3-2 which is flanked at each sid/ex byilang'ies 33 Ain each of which is formed a open ended pocket 34 for the reception ot the tiunnions 35 of the roller 36. The /vfljacent face of the yoke 20 is provided with a pair ofcarn faces 37, 37 which are separated by a #alley 38 within which th lller 36 is normally seated, being held y dingly in the valley by the pressure of ja spring 39 which is retained between :the side plates 25' engaging the saddle 31 at diie end and a cross head 41 --at vthe other end. The cross head 41 is eX- tended through slots 42 formedin the side plates 25 and at its outer ends is provided with threaded openings 43 for the recepti i iv screws 44 which are passers- 45 projecting outwardly fror.

of adjusting through ears the sideplates 25.

Yoke 27 is formed for the reception oi the I i Gegend- 12 and is clamped thereto by means oa clamping plate 4.6 and bolts 47.

In operation` the usual steering gear is V carefully adjusted toset the steeringwheels in exact straightforward position and then my attachment is clamped to the axle 10 and the tie rod 12 in a manner clearly shown in`F-igs. 1 and 2. The cams 37am so shaped that at different points along their cam surfaces they produce different amounts cf compression .per of the side hars 25, so that the increasing force of the spring 39 as it is compressed is compensated for by the variationI in the amount of compression produced. In other words, the cam surfaces have a Varying inclination to that component of movement o the roller 36 which is produced directly by the swinging of the side plates 23, so that unit of angular movementA the other component of the movement of such roller, which is axially of the spring 39, is different per unit angle of such swing at different points on. such cam surfaces, to compensate for the increasing force exerted Vby the spring as it becomes more greatly compressed. This compensation may be exact, or may be either under or over the amount necessary to maintain a constant opposition to the-movement of the steering wheelsoiit of the straight forward position throughout such movement, as may be found desirable. Preferably, the tension of spring 39 is so adjusted, and the portions of the cams 37 immediately adjacent the valley 38 areV so formed, that if the hand wheel is left free, the action of the spring 39 on `the cams will serve to autoinatically'position the steering wheels in a straight-fon ward position, while the moie remote poi'- tions of the cams 37 are less steep and consequently as the. plates 25 are swung farther from the center line or normal position of the parts, the cams have a somewhat less returning effect upon the side plates.

In operation it' is found that the shocks due to the running of the vehicle in straight-forward direction which ordinarily require the constant attention of the operator to maintain the steering wheels in proper position, are absorbed by the spring 39 and the operator is no longer under the necessity of keeping tight hold upon the hand wheel.

claim as my invention:

1. An attachment for automobile steering gears comprising a pair of yokes, one formed for attachment to a front axle and the other formed for attachment to a tie rod, a member pivotally connecting said yokes, a pair of cams carried between said yokes, a member enga/ging said cams and movable longitudinally of the connection bef tween the yolces, and a spring normally urging said cam-engaging .member into the va1.

ley between them.

2. An attachment for automobile steering gears comprising a yoke formed for attachment to a front axle and provided with a pair of separated camson its rear face, a second yoke formed for attachment to the steering gear tie rod, a member pivotally attached to said two yokes upon substantially parallel axes, a roller formed to normally seat in the valley between the cams, a saddle engaging said roller, anda spring acting upon said saddle and the connecting member to normally urge the. roller into the valley between the cams and hold the connecting member yieldingly in a normal position relative to theirst-mentioned yoke.

3. An attachment for automobilev steering gears, comprising a pair of attaching members for attachment to a front axle and to a tie rcd respectively, a member pivotally connecting said two attaching members, a cam, a member which travels on said cam as said connecting member swings on its pivot, the cam surfaces of said cam having a varying inclination to that component of the movement of said traveling member which is produced directly by the movement of said connecting member, and a spring which opposes that component of the relative movement between said cam and said traveling member which is caused by the action of the cam.

4. An attachment for automobile steering gears, comprising a pair of attaching inembers for attachment to ai front axleand to a tie rod respectively, a member pivotally connecting said two attaching members, a cam, a member which travels on said cam as said connecting member swings on its pivot,

and a spring which opposes that component of the relative movement between said cam and said traveling member which is ca used by the action of the cam.

5. An attachment for automobile steering gears, comprising a pair of attaching memvbers for attachment to a front axle and to a tie rod respectively, a member connecting said two attachingl members, a cani, a mem bei' whiclitravels on said cam as said connecting member moves away from a given position, the cam surfaces of said cam having a varying inclination to that component Y of the movement of said travelingnieinbei" which is produced directlyby the movement of said connecting member, and a spring which opposes that component of the relative movement between said cam and said traveling member which is caused by the ac tion of the cam.

6. An attachment for automobile steering gears, comprising a pair of attaching niembers for attachment to a front axle and to a tie rod respectively, a member connecting said two attaching members, a cam, a member which travels on said cam'as said con nectng member moves away from a given position, and a spring which opposes that component of the relative movement between said cam and ysaid traveling member which is caused by the action of the cam.

In witness whereof, l have hereunto setA Indiana, this 16th my hand at Indianapolis,

thousand nine day of November, A; D. one hundred and fourteen. 

